Improvement in combination locks



UNITED STATES SAMUEL MILLER, or enATIs, omo.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINATION LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,912, dated August8, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, SAMUEL MILLER, of Gratis,

in the county of Preble and State of Ohio, have invented certainImprovements in Combination Lock and Latch, and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the annexed drawing making a part of this specification, inWhich- Figure 1 is an elevation, the front plate of the case beingremoved to expose the interior mechanism. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectionon line of Fig. 1. Fi. 3 is a horizontal section on line y y of Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a section ofthe gravitating tumbler and its weight. Fi 5represents the dial-plate upon the outside ofthe door.

rlhe same letters of reference are employed in all the figures in thedesignation of identical p arts.

This invention, relating to a combined lock and latch, consists in theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of various parts thereof,which will be generally explained in the following description andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

The mechanism of the lock is inclosed in a case, A, which is to besecured to the inside of the door. The latch-bolt B is projected by thespring C, which bears against the turned-up car b oi the bolt. Againstthe other side of this ear I; bears one arm of a gravitatingbell-cranked lever, l), which turns upon the stud (I, and reaches withits other arm to within the circle described by the points of the cam E.The latter is secured upon a squared portion of Vthe spindle F, which.turns in bearings in the plates of the case and projects a sufficientdistance upon either side to receive suitable knobs by which to operateit. A spiral spring, F en circles the spindle between the outer plate ofthe case and the cam E, pressing the latter against the opposite orinner plate of the case, in order that it may freely turn without comingin contact with the bell-cranked lever D,'the horizontal arm of which iscut away upon the inner side, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, to permit thecam E to play under or behind it. To retract the bolt B it is necessaryto bring the cam E in line with the horizontal arm of the lever D bymoving the spindle F endwise so as to compress the spiral spring, afterwhich the cam may be turned by the spindle to depress the horizontal armof the lever D, and consequently draw the bolt back by the other arm.The locking-bolt G is arranged in the upper part of the case andsustained in position in the slot in the end of the case, through whichit plays, and the upper end of a vertically-sliding bar, I. When thebolt is projected, as shownin Fig. 1, the recess g is brought oppositeto the slide-bar, and hooks over the latter so as to prevent theretraction of the bolt until it is lifted to clear the slide-bar. Therear end of the bolt is held in forcible contact with this slide-bar bythe spring G bearing upon its upper edge. The rear end of the bolt islifted so that it may be retracted into the case by means of a long cog,Z, of the cogged wheel or tumbler L, which turns on a stud, Z1, sodisposed that the points of the cam E will mesh into the co gs of thetumbler, which, in turn, bears against the under side or edge of thebolt formed with a swell at g1, which stands vertically above the axisof the tumbler when the bolt is projected, as shown in Fig. 1. Thetumbler carries a weight in the form of a plate, L', which is soarranged in` relation to the lon g cog Z that when the latterl standsunder the swell g1 of the bolt G it will incline to one side or theother of such cog i at a sufficient angle to cause the tumbler to turnon its axis the moment it is released from the pressure of the bolt andits spring. rllhe tumbler has nmnerous holes t2, bearing some definiterelation to the cogs, so that the position of the weight L can bechanged to carry'the long cog l to different points in thecircledescribed by it in revolving the tumbler, and consequently necessitatefewer or more, as the case may be, revolutions ofthe cam E to turn suchcog under the swell g1 of the bolt. The face-plate of the case is madein two parts, one of which only need be removed to gain access to thetumbler for the purpose of changing the position of the weight L. Thatpart of the stud Z1 passing through the weight L is formed with afeather, l, vertically above its center, and the aperture in the weighthas a corresponding groove which coincides with the feather when theweight is at rest freely suspended from the stud. This feather andgroove will quickly check the oscillation ofthe tumbler and weight asthey are released from the pressure of the bolt G, and stop them in therequired position. The bolt G is retracted through the medium of alever, H, turning loosely upon a stud, h, and, extending over the faceof the bolt, is provided with a short lateral projection which plays inthe recess g2 in the upper edge of the bolt. The lower l in its verticalmovements.

weighted end of this lever extends within the circle described by thepoints of the cam E, which, in turning the tumbler' when it is revolvedin the direction of the arrow in Fig. l-oscillates the lever withoutaffecting the bolt, the recess g2 being made of sufficient extent topermit this; the lower end of the lever being weighted, holds it in anupright position, so that when the cam is turned in the oppositedirection, after the bolt Gr has been raised, it will bring theprojection on the upper end of the lever in contact with the edge of therecess g2 and draw the bolt inward. As soon as the long cog of thetumbler has been turned under the bolt the cam is thrown out of gearwith the tumbler by moving the spindle F endwise. In this condition thecam is again turned in the direction of the arrow until one of its armsis brought to the left side of lever H, with which it is then made toengage, and by turning it in the opposite direction oscillates the saidlever, with the lateral In'ojeetion on its upper arm in contact with theedge ofthe recess g2 in the bolt, a sufflciei 1t distance to retract thebolt into the case. The construction of the tumbler', cam, and thislever, and their relative arrangement, may be such, as shown in thisinstance, that at the moment when one of the arms of the cam has turnedthe long cog ofthe tumbler under the bolt another arm stands on the leftside of and so close to the lever that, by reversing the movement of thecan), it will cause the lever to push the inclined part of the bolt ontothe slide-bar I before the arm enga-ged with the tumbler can turn thelong cog from under the bolt, so that it will be unnecessary todisengage the cam from the tumbler. rlhe slidelbar I is suspended on thestud 1'., passing' through a long slot in its upper end, and pressed bythe end 0 of the spring C against another stud, 1'/ along' which it isguided Its lower end extends into the circle described by the points ofthe cam E, under the cut-away part of the lever D, and it is so ar angedthat in turning the cam in the direction opposite to that indicated bythe arrow in Fig. l one-of its points will push the bar up and lift theend of the bolt G so high as to release the tumbler L, which is thenimmediately turned by the weight. It will thus be seen that it isnecessary to be careful in arranging the cam after the bolt has beenraised by the long cog of the tumbler, in such a manner that it sha-llact upon the lever ll to push theinelined portion of the bolt on top ofthis slide-bar before it comes in conta et with the latter' 5 for, ifthe cam operates .upon this slide-bar first, in turning it in adirection opposite to that indicated by the arrow, it will, in elevatingsuch slide-bar, cause it to lift the bolt, in consequence of which thetumbler will be released and turned by its weight, so that when the camreleases the slide-bar the bolt will assume its normal position, withits recess g hookin g over the slide-bar. The under side ofthe bolt Gr,just beyond the recess g, is made inclined, as shown, so that in ridingover the slide-bar the bolt is raised sufficiently to release thetumbler. K represents a short oscilla-ting arm, entering' a recess, g3,in the bolt G. On turning this arm by means of the thumb-piece K', onthe outside of the ease and inside of the door, it first lifts the bolt,when projected, and then retracts it, independent] y of all the otherparts; and, reversing the motion of the arm, the bolt may be projectedby it. A stationary index-plate, M, on the out side of the door, aroundthe spindle F, and a pointer, m, on the latter, serve in the usualmanner in determining the true position of the tunibler for retractingthe bolt Gr.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. The gravitating toothed tumbler L, coni structed with a long cog, Z,in combination with the bolt G, substantially as set forth.

2. rllhe toothed tumbler L, having an elongated cog, l, in combinationwith an adjustable weight, L', substantially as set forth.

In combination with the tumbler L and weight L, the feather Z3, on thestud 1.1, and corresponding groove in the weight, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of the bolt G, sliding' bar I, cam E, andgravitating-tumbler L, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL MILLER.

Witnesses JOHN BooKwAL'rEa, NVILLIAM H. Foen'r.

